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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Racism
onkenzisshelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
What I Liked
- I loved watching Alice's journey with her sexuality unfold. It was very personal and very real and I appreciated how it played out.
- There weren't any of the classic Ace stereotypes played out by the main characters. Obviously, the book started with some of these hurtful cliches, but overall, it stayed away from them which was incredibly important.
- Takumi was just wonderful.
- I liked Alice's relationship with her family and how she dealt with that.
What I Didn't Like/Wanted More Of
- The writing style wasn't my favorite, specifically all of the I guess after-thoughts in parenthesis throughout.
- There was a little too much going on at times. I almost felt like the plotlines with Feenie could have been removed without affecting the integrity of the story.
- The ending jumped ahead, which was fine, but it left me confused in terms of Alice's relationship with her family.
You Should Read If You Like
- This was a fabulous little romance that dealt with some heavy-hitting topics, so if you're a fan of romances that go past the surface, I recommend this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, and Homophobia
kaylamoran's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I'm actually very sad to be putting it down.
Contemporary romances aren't my thing, but maybe I just need to read more diverse, LGBTQ ones.
I loved the fact we got a Black ace MC, and an Asian love interest. While interracial relationships are starting to get more representation in books, it seems one of the partners is always white, and that's not what it's actually like irl. I loved seeing Alice work through her feelings and asexuality in this book, and learn she wasnt broken. I relate a lot to her struggle, and I'll definitely be doing some soul searching.
The one thing I didn't really like was the writing style. I found it pretty annoying at times, or even a bit fanfictiony.
Contemporary romances aren't my thing, but maybe I just need to read more diverse, LGBTQ ones.
I loved the fact we got a Black ace MC, and an Asian love interest. While interracial relationships are starting to get more representation in books, it seems one of the partners is always white, and that's not what it's actually like irl. I loved seeing Alice work through her feelings and asexuality in this book, and learn she wasnt broken. I relate a lot to her struggle, and I'll definitely be doing some soul searching.
The one thing I didn't really like was the writing style. I found it pretty annoying at times, or even a bit fanfictiony.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Racism
booktribe's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Racism
xoodlebooks's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Racism
Minor: Biphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, and Panic attacks/disorders
reading_between_the_trees's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As promised in the title, this book explored love in a non-allonormative way, breaking down aesthetic, sexual, and romantic attraction to show how love is present in all of those. Love can be shown in so many different ways, and is valid in all forms. We are shown a few examples of aphobia and how damaging they are to the main character in conjunction from the anti-Black racism she experiences throughout the book. Alice is also a wonderful and complex character, and we not only see her advocate for herself and her ace identity, but advocate for what she wants from her life in other ways, standing up to people who tell her she should want something different.
I loved this book and would highly recommend it.
I loved this book and would highly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Mental illness and Racism
taram's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Misogyny, and Racism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
With the caveat that books where a relationship is the main plot stress me out... I really like this one. It didn't linger too long on the bad stuff, whenever things were rough emotionally in one part of the MC's life she always had at least one other place to turn for support (though sometimes more than one thing was rocky at once). Her relationship with her best friends (who are engaged to each other) is nuanced and dynamic, she has a different rapport with them as individuals and as a couple. It also deals with her family relationships, with her much older siblings and her parents who have very strong opinions about what she should do with her life. The main romantic interest in the story gets space for the reader to get to know him pretty well as the MC is trying to figure out what she wants as a biromantic asexual person who isn't out to many people and has a lot of anxiety about talking about her asexuality. This book has nuanced discussions of labels which stay centered on the MC throughout, focused on her experience without trying to overgeneralize for other people who might share her labels. The MC and the love interest also have some discussions about their very different experiences as POC (Black and Japanese, respectively). Overall it's a mostly upbeat story that's not afraid to be sad when it's needed, and is a firm proponent of the restorative powers of great food and a good cry. The layers of important relationships in the MC's life helped to showcase different parts of her inner life as well as showing what she cares about with each person.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Racism
CW for racism, aphobia, panic attacks.dianna_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
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